Restored NEPA Climate Change and Environmental Justice Centers

Today, the Biden administration finalized a rule implementing changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the basic law that governs how federal agencies assess the potential environmental impacts of proposed actions and interact with communities. The final rule restored key elements of NEPA that were weakened under the Trump administration, while also strengthening community participation requirements and assessing the impacts of climate change and environmental justice in federal agencies’ decision-making.

“We are pleased to see NEPA being strengthened and restored. This new rule is an important victory in protecting communities from environmental damage and the ecosystems on which birds and other wildlife depend for their survival,” said Sam Wojcicki, senior director of climate policy at the National Audubon Society. “A strong NEPA means better public health and environmental outcomes and fewer delays for the responsibly located clean energy infrastructure needed to combat the climate crisis. The new climate and environmental justice provisions will result in more robust and resilient projects, while ensuring the voices of affected communities are heard. Meaningful community engagement is critical to a just, sustainable and lasting clean energy transition.”

In 2020, the National Audubon Society joined a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s rollback of critical protections under NEPA. That case was put on hold while the Biden administration finalized this new rule.

Improved NEPA analysis will help the U.S. accelerate clean energy deployment with less conflict and more resilient projects by requiring project leaders to engage communities from the start and evaluate all potential impacts. Audubon’s report, Birds and transmission: building the grid that birds needoutlines the urgent need for additional transmission capacity and shares solutions to minimize risks to birds.

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About Audubon
The National Audubon Society is a nonprofit conservation organization that protects birds and the places they need today and tomorrow. We’re working across America to build a future where birds thrive because Audubon is a powerful, diverse and ever-growing force for conservation. Audubon has more than 700 employees across the hemisphere and more than 1.5 million active supporters. North America has lost three billion birds since 1970, and more than 500 bird species in Latin America and the Caribbean are threatened with extinction. Birds act as early warning systems about the health of our environment, telling us that birds – and our planet – are in crisis. Together as one Audubon, we are working to change the course of climate change and habitat loss, leading to healthier bird populations and reversing current trends in biodiversity loss. We do this by implementing conservation on the ground, partnering with local communities, influencing public and corporate policy, and building community. For more information, visit www.audubon.org and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @audubonsociety.

Media contact: Megan Moriarty, [email protected]